Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up! I was having some writer's block, and I've got AP Biology summer work...bleh.
Anyway, there will be some changing POV in this chapter too, so pay attention to the page breaks again!
Disclaimer- I don't own Magical Starsign. This fact makes me sad...
Chapter 14- Nova
As the bright light faded from my retinas, I finally caught my first glimpse of the Light Planet. It shone like a beacon of hope, and most would be in awe of this glittering planet, but, not me. As a dark magician, in my eyes, the Light Planet was not a thing of beauty, but a thing that stood for all that would oppose me, all that I had to fight, all that would destroy me.
Besides, just because it looked beautiful, that didn't mean it didn't hide something darker than what might be in my own forgotten memories. No matter how beautiful the surface was, there was always something dark and ugly hidden beneath. That seemed like a legitimate idea. Although, where it came from, I didn't have a clue.
"Wow, this place is just amazing, right Nadia?" Lassi exclaimed eagerly as the rocket landed. Before I could reply, everyone was already out of the rocket and off to explore the planet. I sighed and reluctantly followed, even though I had a bad feeling about this.
"Hm, yeah, great," I muttered. My heart wasn't in it, and my mind was elsewhere. I tried to shake it off, but I couldn't bring myself to like this planet...at all. Here, I was weak. Even during the night, this place would be bright. I could never reach my full magical potential here.
"But you could reach it elsewhere, Nadia..."
I snapped my head up, looking around frantically for whoever just said that. Seeing no one, not even my friends, I tried to ignore it, shaking my head. "Great Nadia, now you're hearing things," I muttered to myself. Silence reigned supreme, as though the world was holding its breath. "And now you're talking to yourself. Could this day get any better?" I said aloud, sarcasm dripping from my voice.
"You're not losing your mind, if that's what your thinking." When I snapped my head toward the voice, my jaw dropped. In front of me, stood a boy who looked a few years older than me, with dark brown hair and green-yellow eyes. The boy from my nightmares! Except...he seemed to be a ghost.
"I know what this looks like. I look like a ghost. But I'm not actually dead. I'm projecting my mind over the astral plane to reach your mind, so you can hear and see me. Look, I haven't got much time. I came to give you some answers for some of the questions you might have...You do have questions, don't you?" At my nod, he continued on, "Okay, first things first, I'm Darren. That's all you need to know about me. Second, you remember that girl, Cassie, right, and her brother, Eric?" Once again, I nodded, too shocked to speak. This was downright freaky. And where were my friends?!
"Well, Eric might be dead, but Cassie is still out there, and she knows more about you than you know about you, and she hates you for it. So be ready for her to come and attack you. You have to win, because I'll be honest, Cassie is well and truly insane, and if she wins, she's going to try to take over the world."
Here, I chose to interrupt, "While these are all great things to know, you're not really answering all the questions I WANT answered!" Really, if you're going to give me information, give me the stuff I want to know!
Darren continued on as though I hadn't spoken, "Last, you need to know how important you are, to the world. So, when you get to the other planet in the sun, when you get home, be prepared for just about anything. Oh, and don't try to look for me and demand more answers. Somehow I doubt you'll ever find me. Good luck, Nadia." And then his ghostly form was gone, as though it had never been there...which, it probably hadn't, if I thought about it. Although Darren irritated me since he didn't answer the rest of the questions I wanted to know.
Some...delusional part of me, trusted him. Something inside told me he had my best interests at heart. I was always one to follow my instincts, because the instincts of a dark magician often save their lives. But those same instincts often lead down the path of evil. I was determined to not follow in my ancestor's footsteps.
"Nadia! There you are! Come on, we've learned our next step!" Lassi shouted as she came racing back toward me. However, she skidded to a stop and studied me closely. "Are you alright, Nadia?" she finally asked after staring at me for a moment. I shook off my gloomy thoughts and managed to smile brightly at my best friend.
"Fine, Lassi. I'm just fine. Let's get going. You can fill me in on the way."
~NOVA~NOVA~
"So, let me get this straight, there's another planet in the sun?" I asked, surprised. It was like they were quoting Darren, but I knew for a fact that they hadn't seen or heard him. Darren had sent that message specifically to me, he'd addressed me by name, and if there was one thing I knew about astral projection, it was that only the receiver could see the sent message.
"Well, they said something about Shadra being like...the other side of Nova. Like, the dark side of the sun," Chai explained. I stared at him incredulously.
"Uh-huh. And to get to the 'dark side of the sun', we have to jump down this hole?" I asked. I still wasn't buying it; it sounded ridiculous, even after everything Darren told me. Phunnel Pit. Huh. I guess the name did kind of suit it, but jumping down a hole seemed very...iffy. Shouldn't there be a bridge or something?
"Don't jump down there! The bridge was destroyed! If you want to get to Shadra now, you have to go to Luminite Palace and ask the queen!" someone shouted. We spun around, and saw a dwarf standing some ways away. How did he get here?
"Who destroyed it?" Pico asked out of curiosity.
"I did." That voice! It chilled me to the core and at the same time enraged me. That maniac nearly tore us apart! Damn it, I thought she was gone. Although, Darren did say she was still out there...
"Cassie," I stated coolly, not letting my emotions through. I was terrified of her, but at the same time I wanted to kill her. Well, one or the other would happen now, wouldn't it? The psychopath could be reunited with her dead brother, because there was no way I would let her walk all over us, kill us, or take over the world, because I was going to save the world, damn it! If only to atone for any sins from my past.
No, that wasn't it. I...want to be a hero. Sins or not, that was in the past, and I was here in the present. I had a chance to rise above the stereotype of dark magicians and be an actual hero, and that chance was not going to pass me by!
"Well, I can see the determination in your eyes. Hm, tell you what. We'll make a deal. You give me your little salamander friend," she began, and then her hands started glowing, a giant black gun forming in the air in front of us. My eyes widened in shock. What spell was that? "And I'll play the game your way. I'll let the rest of you live and move on to go save the world. I'll leave the whole solar system alone, if I can just have Chai." She was grinning evilly, her eyes glinting with a devious light. She...what? My left eye began to twitch.
She...wanted...Chai? She wanted to steal one of my best friends? The first friend I'd ever had!? Words came back to me from that strange girl...
"The answer yes to avoid death, the answer no would make it...Beware Cassie."
Understanding dawned on me, and then I grinned. Well, looked like I'd be meeting her soon. "Not gonna happen, Cassie. No way." Cassie's victorious smirk disappeared, and the girl screamed in rage.
"Killing Gun!"
Something came over me, my limbs moved without my approval, coming up in front of me instinctively, and I shouted out, "Hellish Vortex!" A portal opened in front of me, swirling black and purple, screams and wails coming forth from it. The blast from the black gun disappeared into the portal, before it snapped shut.
The look of rage on her face quickly turned to horror as I grinned evilly. My mind was becoming fogged. All I knew was that this girl had just threatened someone important, and that she must suffer. "Zero Joker!" Another portal opened, and then the ultimate dark magician himself came through it, his scythe closing in on Cassie.
"Alteration!" Cassie shouted, holding out her hand toward him. His eyes flashed, turning white, and then he turned on me.
"Huh?!" I shouted as the Grim Reaper loomed over me, and then his scythe swung downwards. I screamed as the blade slammed into me, knocking me away from my friends. My back hit the ground, I felt it skid across the ground, heard the tearing of fabric, felt old wounds open up, and I cried out in pain. The pain shooting through me instantly caused the fog in my mind to clear.
"Nadia!" I heard someone cry out, but I could barely open my eyes, I was in that much pain. I was certain when I was thrown across the ground that all of those old scars from the living nightmares had just been ripped open.
"Prepare to die," I heard Cassie say, and when I forced my eyes open, I saw her looming over me, her hands glowing again. I winced, closing my eyes and preparing for the killing blow. "Kill-"
"No! Cactus Crush!" Before Cassie could fire the dark gun again, three giant cacti fell on her head, crushing her, impaling her on the spikes. When I managed to open my eyes again, the first thing I saw was Cassie's broken body lying limply on the ground, her neck tilted at an odd angle, her eyes glazed, and blood pouring from multiple wounds. Then Chai's face came into view.
"Nadia? You okay?" he asked, his eyes full of concern. I managed a nod, and then he was hauling me to my feet. When I was standing, I heard a gasp, and glanced around.
Lassi had a horrified look on her face and was covering her mouth with both paws in shock. I flinched. Damn, was it that bad? "Whoa...Sick," Pico breathed. He was standing behind Lassi, and had caught sight of all the blood on my back.
"...Nadia?" Sorbet asked, and when I glanced at her there was a confused look on her face. Right about now, I really wished the ground would just swallow me whole. I had never wanted the rest of my friends to know about the scars, about the attacks, about the nightmares...it was my problem and I didn't want the others sticking their noses in my business, trying to help, when all they would do was make it worse.
"Oh, gosh, Nadia, that was quite a fall if it ripped your back open like that, and there's a lot of blood. We should get you patched up," Lassi babbled, rushing toward me, waving her arms around frantically. She was trying to cover up the fact that all of my scars had been ripped open, or that I had scars at all.
"No excuses, you two. We want the truth; now," Pico snapped. His eyes glowed with determination, and I flinched. Damn it, I'd never be able to get away from it now. When Pico got that look on his face, nothing was going to go my way.
"What are you talking about? We're not making excuses! Why would you say that? Eh, haha..." Lassi laughed nervously, unconsciously starting to tug on one of her ears.
"Lassi, enough. No more lies or excuses. It's over. Let's just tell them," I said with a sigh. Lassi sighed in defeat, dropping her ear, although she looked slightly relieved, as though keeping this secret had been eating her alive. There was an awkward silence, and Pico had his arms crossed, not giving an inch about his opinion.
Then, surprisingly, Sorbet spoke up, "Look, obviously you had your reasons, and got your secrets. We can just forget it for now, because, quite frankly, the universe needs us more, but I expect an explanation later." Pico looked at the water magician in shock, as though he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"But, Sorbet-!"
"Shut up, Pico! We've got a universe to save!" she snapped at him, and then stalked off, simmering with rage. I'd never seen her so mad...was she still holding a grudge about the thing with Cassie? Why? He'd made an honest mistake, and she'd readily forgiven Mokka and Chai...then understanding dawned on me, and I could have slapped myself in the face for my stupidity. Sorbet liked Pico! And liking someone and forgiving them for something like what Pico did was very different than forgiving two friends for something like that.
With that understanding, Lassi and I followed after Sorbet, Mokka, and Chai, with a very confused Pico bringing up the rear.
~NOVA~NOVA~
"Okay, so if they're not letting us in, how are we getting in?" Lassi asked, not looking too happy. I just shrugged in response. I didn't want any of us blowing the doors down because that would be seen as a sign of aggression and I didn't want to make enemies with light magicians on the light planet.
"Perhaps we can be of assistance?" a familiar voice offered, and I spun around to see the dwarves and Spiney Moles walking toward us. I grinned when I spotted King Gorgonzola in the lead.
"Lemme guess. You're going to dig us a tunnel that leads up into the palace so we can get some help?" I said, crossing my arms, but the grin didn't leave my face. It was actually a good idea. It was simple, straightforward, and would be easy to execute.
"Precisely my dear! My, you're quite intelligent!" King Gorgonzola exclaimed, while Minister Munster nodded vigorously. "This will only take a moment!" Then the king was off, tunnelling underground and toward the castle.
Grenadine walked forward and I vaguely wondered what had happened at Condimen Tower when he began to speak, "Now Nadia, when you get in the palace, find the queen and ask her about a portal to Shadra, the dark planet. She'll tell you everything." I shuddered when he said Shadra...would we encounter the King of Shadra? And, was that what Darren meant by dark side of the sun? Shadra?
Before I could ask any questions, Gorgonzola was back, jumping out of the hole he had dug and then scurried over to us, ushering us to climb down the ladder his subjects were dropping down there. "Good luck, Heroes Nadia and Lassi! We'll be right behind you!" So with a grateful smile, I climbed down the ladder and my friends followed. It was a straight shot through the tunnel, and we climbed up the ladder on the other side, entering the elaborate, shining palace. The colors were light and cheerful, and the walls, floors, and ceiling seemed to glow or shimmer.
"Nadia, let's find the queen," Sorbet urged as she started walking away, going up the steps near where we'd entered, and we quickly followed her. She was just ahead of us, poking her head into each door, searching for the Throne Room. Finally, she exclaimed, "Ah-ha!" when she came to the third door and entered. The rest of us entered as well and walked toward the royal chair. There was no one sitting in it, but a luminite stood next to it.
"Welcome, chosen ones. We have been waiting for you, for a long, long time," it said. Was it a boy or a girl? I couldn't tell. Could anyone tell? ...Would it be rude to ask what gender it was? ...Maybe luminites didn't have genders...
"The Queen, before she passed, instructed us to open the portal to Shadra for you. Though I strongly advise against it, we will honor her last wish. Please, follow me. I will lead you to the portal, where we have luminites awaiting to help unlock the seven seals," it continued, and then...walked towards the door. Could that be considered walking? It looked like the thing was floating, not walking. Whatever, though. I tried to shake the scattered thoughts from my mind as we followed the luminite out of the room.
"Nadia." As soon as we walked out the door, I heard my name and turned toward the voice. Durum and Farina were walking towards us. How they had gotten here, I wasn't sure, but I didn't much care.
"We want to help," Durum announced without preamble, and I arched an eyebrow. I wasn't quite sure what to say about that. He still seemed to be grieving over Semolina, and someone blinded by grief would be of no help...that and I didn't much want them with us anyway. I didn't trust them at all.
"Durum, there's nothing you can do. We're honored by your offer, really, but it's not necessary," Sorbet said, stepping forward to take control of the situation. I could always count on her to keep a cool head. Then my gaze flicked to Pico, and I quickly mended that thought. Almost always. Wherever Pico was concerned, Sorbet could not keep her cool.
Durum and Farina exchanged a quick glance and I gazed at them suspiciously, before Durum spoke again, effectively diverting my attention, "Very well. Then we shall support you from the shadows. Come, Farina. Let us leave." Then the two felins left, and we continued on our way.
~NOVA~NADIA~NOVA~
"Each element has a different section of the portal to activate. A luminite will take care of the light section. The rest of you must deal with the other seals," the luminite who led us to a large room under the rest of the palace explained. Six luminites floated in front of us, each tainted a different color than the normal glittering white.
"Simply follow the proper color to your element room," the luminite continued, and then nudged us towards the other luminites. I hissed when it touched me, my pale skin easily burned by the light-powered luminite. The luminite quickly moved away from me with a quiet sorry, and I internally snarled to myself as I followed the purple/black stained luminite. It led me to a room off to one side, with a pot in the center, tall luminites against the wall that held skulls in their hands, and a mirror on the wall between the two tall luminites.
"Your wild magic spell," the luminite in the doorway suggested quietly before finally shutting the door and leaving the room, which made sense because my dark spell would probably hurt the luminite. Dark colored or not, the thing probably was a light magician.
I took a deep breath, held up my hands and began to chant, "Dark night! Hear my cry! Lend me your strength! Come again, envelop the world, and darken the sun!" The shadows gathered, and the dark orb formed. Despite the lack of shadows and darkness on this planet, I felt as they expanded, and there was a small explosion as the dark seal was destroyed. I was knocked to the ground as the shadows suddenly escaped my control, going wild all over the room before settling into the mirror, turning it black. Laughter filled the air, and I sat upright, staring at the scene playing out before me.
A woman sat on the throne in the room above where I currently resided. She was not beautiful though, in fact, the exact opposite. She looked like a horrible witch. A young, not bent-at-the-back witch, but a witch nonetheless. Her nose was crooked and her face had the occasional wart.
Before her was a young man. He had dark brown hair, and when he looked up at her, his green and yellow eyes glimmered dangerously. He was a force not to underestimate.
"I seek your daughter's hand in marriage," he stated with a sly smirk. His voice was melodious and smooth, like music, and the woman who sat before him, the woman who must be the queen, laughed.
"You want Marie? Funny, considering how hideous she is, and the fact that she's the heir to Nova, while you're the Prince of Shadra." The woman stood up and walked toward the young man, who only looked to be in his late teens. She walked a circle around him, studying him up and down. "Exact opposites, and yet, you seek to marry her. Your mortal enemy, and still you say you love her? What a fool you are, young Prince," the Queen of Nova laughed harshly, and it was a horrible ugly sound, the exact opposite of the young Prince before her.
The Prince, surprisingly, was not upset, he simply glanced up at the Queen and smirked, stating, "She is everything I am not, and everything I wish to be. Light and Dark need not be enemies. Our marriage would unite our two warring planets, and bring peace everywhere. But, how could you ever understand? Your soul is as ugly as the old Shadra Witch saw when she placed the curse on you."
The woman let out a shriek of outrage, but before anything could happen, the doors near the back of the room were flung open, and a beautiful young woman entered. Her long blond hair flowed as she walked, and every step was graceful. Her light pink eyes were full of an innocent joy. She walked over and stepped in front of the Queen, facing the Prince of Shadra.
"I accept your request for marriage," she said quietly, and then gave a small, genuine smile. The Prince beamed an award-winning smile at her as he took one of her hands and went to one knee with a bow.
"Prince Vance of Shadra, at your service, malady," he said as he looked up at her with a wink, causing her to blush slightly and giggle.
"Marie, you can't be serious! Marrying this hooligan? I won't allow it!" the queen shrieked again, her cold, black eyes blazing with a cruel fury. Something told me she was jealous of young Marie. Jealous of her beauty and her kindness, probably jealous of everything about her.
An annoyed expression crossed Marie's face as she snapped back, "Mother, please! I will not listen to your inane babble anymore. Your sanity has become questionable, and according to Nova law, a child will no longer have to listen to their parents should their kindness and/or sanity be questioned. I'll leave you to live out your miserable life now." With that said, Marie turned and walked away, hand in hand with Vance.
Unseen to those in the room, a wicked grin spread across Vance's face, and I swear it was his thoughts I was hearing, 'Once I'm married to her, I will become King of Shadra! And once I have my heirs, we will rule the whole solar system!'
~NOVA~PICO~NOVA~
After I'd cast my wild magic spell, the whole room turned red, and when the light faded away, I was no longer in the palace on Nova. I was back on Razen, in a quaint little hut built into the super heated rocks. Was this...was this where my parents had used to live?
"You've become insane! How could you do this? He's your son, Penny!" I heard my father's booming voice, and I moved toward the sound, entering the room near the back of the small hut. There, stood my father, with a crying child in his arms, who I assumed was a younger version of myself. I mean, the baby had wild red hair and green eyes, so it had to be me, right? And the man was obviously my father, he looked exactly the same, all muscular and kind of scary, but with less grey in his fiery red hair, and his beard.
Then, my gaze went to the woman on the floor. She had wild blond hair hanging in her face and sticking up in some places. She was small, and seemed kind of delicate, but when she laughed, it was insane, and I knew she wasn't all there. Her limbs were long, and she was reaching for the smaller version of myself, still laughing. When I saw her green eyes, I knew. She was my mother.
"Oh, silly Monty, don't you understand? I'm doing this for the greater good! He's a little monster, a devil! He must be destroyed!" she shrieked as her hand reached out for something on the rocky floor, and when she found it, she lunged toward the younger version of my father and myself. I saw the flash of the knife in her hand, and she let out a blood-curdling scream, her eyes wild and far too bright.
There was a flash of bright red light as my dad shot out an open palm and shouted, "Afterburner!" My mother's scream of rage turned into a scream of pain as the flames consumed her, and then the whole house caught fire as my father high-tailed it out of the building, and I followed.
My father simply watched, holding the small me in his arms and rocking the baby gently. It, er, I looked up at him with watery eyes brimming with tears. He forced a smile to his face as he whispered, "Come on, Pico, my little fire mage. Let's go start over."
Then he turned and walked away. He didn't look back.
As I turned to watch the house burn, I noticed it was gone, and then I noticed everything else was gone, and that same girl from before stood before me. Her eyes seemed to stare right through me as she said in a monotone voice, "Your roots were as shaky and tentative as Nadia's. You and her are much alike. Guard her with your life, and she in turn with aid you in your time of need. I promise you, it will be necessary, for very soon, evil will rise. Friends will flock to you, and enemies will rise against you. Good luck, young fire mage." Then she too turned to walk away, and when I opened my eyes again, another, more familiar, scene was playing like a movie before my eyes.
~NOVA~CHAI~NOVA~
I was trapped in a nightmare. One minute, I was on Nova, the next, I had no idea where I was. Monsters were before my eyes, people were crying and screaming, everything was full of shadows. Never before had I feared the dark, but suddenly it held new monsters and I had reason to fear it.
I kept running, and then suddenly ran into a wall. I fell back and landed on my tail, but I ignored the pain to jump back to my feet and attempt to run back the way I came, only to run into cage bars. "No! Let me out!" I screamed, shaking the bars desperately, wanting them to simply collapse so I could get away from the nightmares.
I had no idea where I was, it was no planet I knew of. It was a mix of fire and mountainous earth, filled with shadows and fog. "Darren, my son, have you found your troublesome twin?" a man's voice boomed, echoing through the realm, and I automatically shrunk back at how terrifying it is.
"There's nothing to find, father. She is surely dead after that explosion!" another voice replied, this one softer, timid, and if he really thought about it, the voice was probably a really good singer. He wouldn't mind hearing the voice sing, and why was his mind wandering like that? ...Maybe the fog wasn't fog, but some kind of drug.
"Silence! Do not suggest such things! Marie survived! Your little sister survived! Why wouldn't your twin survive?" the older man boomed, and I flinched again. Man, I'd hate if that guy was my father. "Find them and bring them to the underworld! I wish to begin my conquest of the universe!"
"The Underworld?" I gasped, looking around with wide eyes. There was silence around me for a moment, as though I'd been heard when I spoke, and then a figure came into view. A boy with wild dark hair and green-yellow eyes and perfectly tanned skin gazed at me with shock, and then quickly glanced around.
"You shouldn't be here. You need to go back; now," that musical voice said, and my eyes widened, even as the boy's hand started glowing a pure light. He reached out and touched my head, saying, "Astral Rejection." Then I was consumed by the light.
~NOVA~NADIA~NOVA~
I waited impatiently for my friends to return. Perhaps if we worked together we could decipher some of these visions. But, we couldn't do that if they didn't show up! Where were they? "Nadia," I heard Mokka say, and despite the recognition of his voice, I jumped a foot in the air.
"Mokka! Don't scare me like that," I scolded, turning towards him with a scowl and my hands on my hips. Once again, he was emotionless, and it was unnerving that he seemed to be staring at me, especially considering I knew he liked me...which was awkward. How could a robot feel love anyway? That didn't make sense at all. He'd always said he didn't understand or feel emotions so why did he claim to love me, when love was the most complex emotion of them all.
"Scaring you was not my intention," he replied in a monotone voice, and then fell silent.
I hesitated for a moment before deciding to ask, "Mokka, while you were with your element, did you have any...strange visions?" Mokka looked at me, and I had no idea what he was thinking or what he was going to say. The way he was looking at me made me want to kick myself. Why would I assume that anyone other than me had any visions? The only other person I could think of who might have the visions was Lassi...maybe.
"My optic sensors all mirages that play tricks on your delicate human eyes," he finally replied, and then turned away, not saying another word. Which was strange. Mokka had always been a robot of few words, but he'd never been rude to me like this before. Was he mad at me? Mad I hadn't returned his feelings? That made no sense, but just in case I didn't make any other attempt to speak to him.
The awkward silence thankfully passed quickly when Chai and Pico rushed on scene, chattering away. "Nadia! Mokka! You won't believe it!" Chai began, his eyes shining with excitement.
"We had visions! Like, freaky weird visions! But we think we, or specifically you with all your apparent experience, can decipher them!" Pico continued, also seeming very excited. He'd sounded a little bitter about the "experience with visions" part, but it quickly passed in light of these events. I was quickly swooped up in the excitement, grinning from ear to ear as I demanded they tell me their visions before I would tell them mine.
"There was this boy, in mine, he had dark crazy hair and these awesome green-yellow eyes and then there was this scary voice and it said something about the Underworld and I was like what and then the boy came over and said I shouldn't be here and then he sent me away with this weird light spell. I think it was Astral Rejection? What could it mean? Was it a vision or did I travel the astral plane?" Chai asked, looking at me with wide eyes and a big smile.
I just stood there in shock. He'd described...Darren, I think. Darren was the only boy I knew who knew about me and my friends with wild dark hair and "awesome" green-yellow eyes and could travel the astral planes.
"I...I think you traveled across the astral planes and met Darren," I finally replied, gazing at Chai with wonder. How could he travel the astral planes? Why did he meet Darren? There had to be a reason that I just didn't know yet.
"Awesome!" Chai and Pico declared at the same time, and then high-fived, huge grins on their faces.
"Mine was some kind of freaky memory, I think. My mom was all crazy and my dad killed her and left the house to burn. Then there was this girl who seems to be following me. She's got dark long hair and these blue-green eyes. She keeps saying stuff about pasts and futures and destinies. Who do you think she is?" Pico asked, glancing at me.
Once again, I was shocked. Pico had just described the girl who had warned me of Cassie. "I...I don't know her name, but I've seen her before. I think she's some kind of guardian," I finally replied, meeting Pico's vibrant green eyes. He seemed confused and excited at the same time. Of course he was. He'd never encountered anything like this before, and neither had Chai.
"Woo! Dude, we're in the loop now!" Pico whooped, and then high-fived Chai again. Both had huge face-splitting grins on their faces as they began to do a weird little happy dance. Mokka and I watched on with no emotion, and then my emotion slowly grew to horror. They were still dancing when Lassi and Sorbet came back.
The two exchanged bewildered glances as Lassi asked, "What's with those two?" Mokka just shook his head and said nothing, while I sighed and then face-palmed at their continued antics.
"It's Pico and Chai. They've always been a little loopy," Sorbet deadpanned, and then a small smile stole across her countenance, her eyes fond as she watched Pico acting like an idiot with the boy he used to bully. Lassi nodded in agreement and gave a small laugh, amused. I saw Mokka twitch and I shifted my attention toward him. His focus seemed to be centered around Lassi, and I gave a small smile. So, maybe Mokka was starting to care for Lassi.
As we stood, the ground trembled, and we all sensed a shift in the atmosphere. "What was that?" Chai asked, finally stopping his ridiculous dance to look around in confusion.
"Was that the gate to Shadra opening?" Sorbet wondered aloud.
"Indeed it was, young heroes," a luminite said as it appeared near us, making us jump. How had we not noticed its approach? "Follow me." It started floating away, and we followed after we calmed down from the near heart attack the creäture had given us. The luminite led us to a room near the very back of the palace where there was a ladder that led to the lower levels. "Down here is the gate. All you need is a master engineer to activate it. I shall send the dwarf Grenadine down to aid you. Good luck, young heroes." With that, the luminite floated away, and I started climbing down the ladder, my friends following my lead.
I was barely halfway down when a shot came out of nowhere, going off right near my head. Startled, I released my grasp, and screamed as I felt myself falling. "Nadia!" I heard Lassi shout, before I hit the ground on my back, all the wind knocked out of me.
"Nadia, are you okay?" I heard Pico ask, and when I opened my eyes, he was standing over me, and so were Lassi and Chai. All I could managed was a small groan of pain and a nod. Oh damn there were stars swimming over my head and I felt like I was going to be sick. Pico grasped my hand and hauled me to my feet. My head screamed in protest, but I tried to shake it off.
"So, we meet again, although it is reassuring to know it will be the last time, buk buk..." I knew that voice! Beak Fowler landed nearby, a smirk on his face.
"Yeah, because we're gonna end you after what you did to Detective Beignet!" Lassi shouted, her face scrunched up in anger. I scowled at the reminder. The Detective had been a good person and his life shouldn't have ended like that.
"Oh, the little bunny has a temper. Not that it'll help you any. You're just little children that are in way over their heads," Beak Fowler laughed. I'd had enough of his talk, and decided to attack now.
"Dazzle Darts!" I watched as the dark diamond shot right at him, and he cried out, though whether in surprise, pain, or anger, I wasn't sure. I smiled smugly as Beak Fowler glared at me.
"You'll pay for that with your life, little child. Rising Palm!" Then suddenly Beak Fowler was in front of me and his palm hit my midsection, causing me to go flying back. I hit the wall, crying out, and my head snapped back against a wall before I slid to the ground.
"Nadia!" I heard Lassi shout, and then I heard Beak Fowler preparing for another attack.
"One down, five to go. Lotus Barrage!" I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes, even as I heard Pico cry out in pain. "Correction, four to go, buk buk..." I heard the sound of a body hitting the floor, and yet still couldn't move. I didn't want to. That one attack had really hurt.
"No, Pico! Take this, you ugly fiend! Zap-O-War!" Sorbet cried, and I heard the sound of a portal opening. Finally, I managed to open my eyes and immediately thought I had gone crazy. A giant jellyfish had wrapped itself around Beak Fowler. He swore, even as the jellyfish faded away, and then he turned his fury on Sorbet.
"Shadow Die!" Sorbet's scream pierced my ears and I winced as I watched her go down. Slowly, I closed my eyes, and slipped into the sweet oblivion of unconsciousness.
~NOVA~LASSI~NOVA~
"Well, little bunny, looks like it's just you and me, buk buk..." Beak Fowler clucked, and then he let out a weird chuckle. I glanced around in a blind panic. One by one, my friends had fallen, barely able to land a mark on the evil bird. What should I do? I was weak! What could I do? I needed help. I started tugging on my ears and gnawing on my bottom lip. I'd always had a friend standing beside me, never had I had to face anything alone, even in the beginning of my days at the academy. I didn't even remember the short time where I'd had no younger siblings. It was always me and the many, many sisters and one little brother.
"You've always had the power inside you," a voice whispered, and I suddenly felt stronger than ever before. I felt like I could touch the sky. There was nothing beyond my grasp. I looked down at my paws, and saw them glowing with a yellow-orange power, and the black slowly crept in. I'd never felt this power...or this taint of evil. The blackness was not my own, but something else, and I couldn't decide if I hated it or loved it.
"Black Pteranodon!" A black wind symbol burned in the air before me, and then when it split open a black dinosaur flew out and crushed Beak Fowler. It dive-bombed him several times before spiraling up into the air and exploding in black flames that rained down and scorched the villain.
Beak Fowler coughed and fell to his knees, blood oozing out of random wounds as he muttered, "Impossible. Such a weak magician, and yet, you defeat me!" Then he fell to the ground, dead, and I could only stare in horror.
"Lassi, you did it!" I heard someone gasp behind me, and I turned to see my friends climbing to my feet. It was Nadia who had spoken, and she had a proud smile on her face. I rushed to help my friends up.
"Come on, let's hurry to the gate!" I urged as I helped Nadia and Chai limp along, while Mokka, Sorbet and Pico helped each other. We went through one room, then the other, and we all hurried onto the platform. We didn't have to wait long for Grenadine to come running in and work his engineering magic. The gate lit up, and just as we saw Beak Fowler enter weakly with a bomb before collapsing, finally truly dead, Durum ran in, grabbed the bomb up, and ran back out.
"Durum!" We all screamed as the white light of the gate enveloped us.
Ta-da! Chapter 14! It took forever, fought me tooth and nail, and still ended up the longest! I really hated Nova which is why this is so drug-out and random. At the end it seems rushed because Lassi was kind of in shock. Next chapter should be easier, better, and longer! Then there's just an epilogue after that and that'll be the end of book 1!
Oh, also, I spent a week in San Antonio, which also explains why there were delays! Bear with me, people, this story is coming to a close slowly but surely!
Hyperpink4/Shallowheart4, thanks for sticking with me for so long and putting up with my slowness! You rock!
Review everyone!